Once we’re in Volastra, we’ll be able to head down to Manarola along the panoramic trail that ends up on the hill of Three Crosses, offering views over the sea and the Ligurian coast.

Hike is rated as T/E (easy/medium), has 350 metres of elevation gain and should take less than 3 hours. For sure, we won’t risk missing the lit Xmas crib of Manarola: for those who yet didn’t know about it, Manarola is famous for 15.000 light bulbs, that every December are placed on a hill. They are part of a gigantic Nativity scene, that for the past 54 years has been patiently laid on the hill of the Three Crosses, thanks to the outstanding efforts of now 89-year old Mario Andreoli.

If you have a travel buddy, you should buy the “2×1” special ticket before midnight (11:59pm) of Thursday.

If you’re younger than 26 (i.e. if you’re at most 25 year + 364 days old) or older than 60, you can pay half price, provided you registered to the (free) Cartafreccia program. In case you haven’t registered yet, send me a message and I can send you an invitation (of course, you can also register on your own… but an invitation would grant us both a 10 euro voucher. In order to get the discount, remember to buy the ticket before 23:59 of Friday).

The days might be getting shorter, but there’s still plenty of chances to have some short but interesting hikes.
While waiting for the lights of the Xmas crib of Manarola to be turned on (for the next hike?), let’s walk this Sunday along the trail of the shrines, between Recco and Sori. The trail is famous for crossing some of the most panoramic churches in the Ligurian region. As a matter of fact, we will be passing by 4 churches that are also extraordinary lookout points: Megli, S.Uberto (with the Redeemer statue), S.Apollinare di Sori and S.Martino di Polanesi. From Polanesi we’ll complete the loop by following the coast, back to Recco.

If we’re lucky, we’ll manage to see one of the sunsets for which Sori is famous. And, if we’re even luckier, we might have free hot chocolate, once we’re back in Recco (courtesy of a Xmas event they’re having this Sunday)

Return will be from Recco station, probably around 5:30pm (which will give you plenty of time, to vote for the referendum or to do any other evening activity).

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(**) For those who are voting this Sunday:

Don’t vote before the hike! Instead, bring your “scheda elettorale”, and you’ll have some discount on your trip back to [your town]! (could be 20%.. or even 60%, if you plan on returning to Recco next weekend)